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Spiros Pendedekas
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Revell 1/48 F-89J Scorpion

January 16, 2024 · in Aviation · · 73 · 482

The origins of the F-89 (the name Scorpion came from the elevated tail and high-mounted horizontal stabilizers) can be traced back in summer 1945, when USAAF issued a specification for a twin engine night fighter to replace the P-61 Black Widow.

When the revised specification that came soon after dictated, among others, a maximum speed of 460 knots, it became clear that jet propulsion would be the practical way to go. Northrop proposed the N-24, a two seat, swept-wing jet, which was approved in early summer 1946 as project XP-89.

The evaluation of the full scale mockup a few months later led to a number of significant changes in overall design that were systematically incorporated to the project, the most important being the adoption of a straight wing instead of the initial swept one, in order to improve the low speed flying characteristics which were found unfavorable during wind tunnel tests.

Other important modifications included relocation of the tail planes higher onto the vertical stabilizer to improve their effectivity (not only they were affected by the exhaust gasses, but were also blanked by the wing at high angles of attack), seating of the crew under a single canopy, replacement of the magnesium wing sections with aluminum, extra protection of the fuel tankage which was right atop the engines and deletion of the initially specified rear gun.

The flights performed by the prototype from the end of summer 1948 onwards, clearly indicated that the plane was significantly underpowered, leading to the adoption of the more powerful J-33-A-21 afterburning engines in place of the initially envisaged J35-A-9, together with a weight reduction program.

Changes in armament and avionics took place as well, along with some aerodynamic refinements (the latter being dictated after a crash landing and, later on, a crash). The resulting prototype was redesignated YF-89A, more or less looking like the follow-on production aircraft, the F-89A, with the first of them accepted by the USAF as an evaluation machine on 28 September 1950.

All 18 F-89As that were completed were mainly used for tests and trials and were soon upgraded to the F-89B standard, outfitted with new avionics. The F-89C that followed featured various improvements, in order to mostly solve the serious engine problems the “B” variant exhibited.

However, not only these problems persisted, but also other major issues showed up, the most serious being structural deficiencies of the wings. After a number of groundings the Air Force gave up on the F-89C in 1954, with the variant passing to the Air National Guard, operating till 1960.

The plane matured to the F-89D standard, featuring, among others, structural modifications, to eliminate the problems its predecessor was plagued with. It was equipped with a new Hughes E-6 fire control system with AN/APG-40 radar and an AN/APA-84 computer. Armament consisted of two wingtip pods carrying fifty-two 2.75-inch "Mighty Mouse" FFAR rockets. A total of 682 F-89Ds were built.

Next was the F-89H, featuring the E-9 fire control system and the distinctive wingtip pods, each holding three Falcons (usually three semi-active radar homing GAR-1s and three infrared GAR-2s) and 21 FFARs, for a total of six missiles and 42 rockets. Problems with the fire-control system delayed the -H's entry into service, by which time its performance was notably inferior to newer supersonic interceptors, so it was phased out of USAF service by 1959.

The final variant was the F-89J, of which no new plane was produced but emerged from modifying 350 -D units. It featured tip tanks and could carry one MB-1 Genie nuclear rocket under each wing. The type served with the Air Defense Command through 1959 and ADC-gained units of the Air National Guard through 1969. All in all, no less than 1052 Scorpions were built, including the two prototypes.

Though not an absolutely hot but nevertheless a good performer and despite being plagued with serious issues in its early life (not at all uncommon for jets of that era), the distinctively looking Scorpion matured to an ample interceptor, forming the backbone of North American air defense during the 50s, then serving with Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard during the 60s. Never having shot in anger, the fact that such an early jet remained active for so long can possibly indicate, among others, that a relatively conservative, yet well designed platform which has its teething problems properly solved can have a long, notable career.

This is the venerable but still nice early 90's Revell mold, a pleasant build, allowing you to come up with a quite accurate 1/48 representation of the iconic fighter.

Should you wish to read the full build review, you may do so by visiting my beloved site Modelingmadness:
https://modelingmadness.com/review/korean/us/usaf/fighter/pen89.htm

Happy Modelling!

Reader reactions:
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73 responses

  1. Very nice, Spiros. Like the nmf...

  2. Excellent build!

  3. That's a really beautiful F-89 Spiros. A lot of those old kits really hold up beautifully, and you proved it thanks to your wonderful skills. Great job.

  4. Great looking build Spiros, @fiveten. I think you did a great job on this build, but find the plane a bit ungainly looking. The Pinocchio nose, big wide wings, the wing pods that are quite large...I don't know, it just looks a little goofy and not like a sinister Scorpian. Not taking anything away from your build I actually like it a lot, well done.

  5. Excellent build, Spiros!

  6. Always liked the goofy looks of Scorpion! Love it how yours turned out!

  7. Excellent work, Spiros @fiveten
    The applied metal finish with the red tanks looks really good.
    Well done.

  8. Great looking Scorpion, Spiros @fiveten
    Excellent work on the build and the writeup.

  9. Outstanding build of such an iconic aircraft! I remember these would be on static display at airshows during my youth! Well done!

  10. You forgot that the F-89 did indeed engage once in air combat - with an F6F-5K drone. In "the Battle of Los Angeles," the drone won. 🙂

    Nice work on this, @fiveten.

  11. Beautifully done, Spiros!

  12. Very nicely built and finished, Spiros, and a very interesting history.

  13. Excellent model of an extremely interesting prototype. A very nice and balanced career summary as well.

  14. A fantastic looking model and a very educational back story Spiros (@fiveten). Thanks for sharing it with us 🙂

  15. Great looking build, Spiros and a very informative write up, as well. @fiveten

  16. Another fantastic build @fiveten. This thing has some pretty wide wings in comparison to its fuselage.

  17. Excellent build, Spiros! Great job on the nmf.

  18. Nice Scorpion, Spiros. I love stuff like this.

  19. @fiveten - Great build Spiros. I've never seen a Scorpion before. Very nice writeup, I'm always impressed with the research.

  20. Great job Spiros , well done.

  21. Splendid job on an unusual subject sir

    They sure were a funny looking bird, were they not?

  22. Great job, man!
    Make me want to build one - I'll use your pic's as references!

  23. Beautiful model, Spiros @fiveten! 🤩 It makes me want to dig mine from the stash and get crackin'! 😄

  24. Great work on this Spiros, in this golden age of super kits it's very cool to see that Monogram is still well represented and continues to hold it's own. I really like the variations in the NFM that you managed to achieve on this build. Thanks for sharing!

  25. Such a cool looking jet! Good looking build too. Thanks for sharing.

    Rod

  26. A wonderful Scorpion! I have the old 1/72 Revell kit - need to build it someday soon. It is an intriguing cold war era aircraft.

  27. really an excellent model...I liked the metallic paint...congratulations!👍

  28. Excellent build and paintwork, the NMF looks very convincing!

  29. Very nice work @fiveten! Gotta love those classic planes and kits!

  30. very nice NMF!

  31. Never heard of it...Nice one. I have now👍. Its funny when you look at aircraft development. Some things are overcome, some not, some are just right out of the blocks. The engines for our Scout helicopter were flawed in development, making purchase of the Allouette 2 as a stop gap. It turned out to be very reliable. Then there is the Hurricane v Spifire arguments, the Hurricane happily able to sustain violent evasive manoeuvres that had the contemporary Spits and ME109s losing wings. Great job Speros👍😎

  32. Another beautiful machine from your workshop, Spiros. You really know metal surfaces. Splendor.

  33. great build @fiveten! congrats!

  34. You are so correct, Spiros (@fiveten). The Monogram kits had great shape, very detailed cockpits and landing gear bays, and the raised panel lines were not that big a thing. The F-89 was such an interesting aircraft, and your finish on this one looks absolutely real. Super job! Thanks for sharing it.

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